Dr. Niall Muldoon:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend. Since 2016, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office, OCO, has made it a strategic priority to promote the rights and welfare of children in direct provision and those in the Traveller and Roma communities, and we believe they are only some of the children who are impacted by the past pupil criteria. As members of the committee will be aware, the OCO has previously expressed concerns about the impact the past pupil criteria can have on children whose mother or father did not attend secondary school or who did not attend a particular secondary school. We, therefore, welcome the provision contained in the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2020 which, if enacted, would remove the ability of schools to allocate 25% of places for the children, or grandchildren, of past pupils if they are oversubscribed.

It is important to recognise that the 25% allowance can possibly affect the ability of any child whose mother, father or grandparent did not attend a particular school to get a place in that school. However, there are groups of children who can be particularly disadvantaged. These include Traveller children whose mother or father may not have attended any second level education; children of immigrant parents who would not have attended secondary school in Ireland; children of parents with disabilities who may not have attended a mainstream secondary school; and children of families who have had to move to a different area to find accommodation due to a number of valid reasons, including the housing crisis, returning from abroad, promotion prospects and change in family circumstances. They are all currently at a disadvantage because of the current wording.

Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNCRC, in 1992 and has an obligation under international law to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of all children living in Ireland. Under the convention, a child has a right to an education and secondary education should be available and accessible to every child. Article 2 of the UNCRC, which protects children from discrimination, is one of four general principles considered integral to the rights granted to children under the convention. Article 2 protects children from discrimination in their own right and also protects them from discrimination they may suffer as a result of their connection to their parents.

While the UNCRC itself does not define discrimination, the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR, has found that while treating people differently does not always amount to discrimination, a difference in treatment will be discriminatory if it “has no objective and reasonable justification”, that is, if it does not pursue a “legitimate aim”. From a children’s rights perspective, children have a right to be protected from discrimination and harm and should only experience differential treatment if there is a reasonable or objective basis for this and if it is consistent with children’s rights and their best interests. The priority given to children or grandchildren of past pupils of schools cannot be seen to be a reasonable or objective basis for treating children differently.

We believe that schools should be fully inclusive and promote equality. Education can be a way out of disadvantage for many students yet this provision seems to say that children who had parents and grandparents who went to a particular school can get priority in obtaining a school place. This is undoubtedly leading to a continuing cycle of disadvantage for some children.

Goal 2 of the Department of Education’s Statement of Strategy 2021-2023 is to ensure equity of opportunity in education and that all students are supported to fulfil their potential. It states:

[E]quity of opportunity and inclusivity must be fundamental principles in our education system. Our aim is to develop a system that welcomes and meaningfully engages all students, including those with special educational needs and students at risk of educational disadvantage.

By allowing preferential access to schools for one group of children over others, the State is failing in its own strategic aim to provide an education system which promotes equity of opportunity and inclusivity.

From a children’s rights perspective, children have a right to be protected from discrimination. Putting children without an intergenerational connection with a school at a disadvantage to those with such a link is discrimination by treating children differently when they are trying to access their education.

I am grateful for the invitation to meet today and I am happy to take any questions that the members may have.